Stan;
I only have one ML rifle which I built around 50 years ago. I used s Douglas .45 cal barrel which has grooves of about .010", per side. Pillow ticking is my normal patch material. I make sure it is All Cotton & have not used any of the Teflon coated. I just buy a length at the fabric store, put it through 1 or sometimes 2 wash cycles before using. I have wet the patches on my tongue, but only when I was planning on shooting immediately. When I carried it hunting I always used some other form of lubricant.
As I said my problem was not with the Spit itself, but putting my head over the muzzle of a loaded gun barrel. Many are think when you remove the cap from a caplock gun it is totally Safe, Not So. Some years back a third cousin of mine took our G-Grandfather's ML rifle to school on the school bus for Show & Tell. Family lore has it he had carried this rifle for at least part of "The War" even though it was a hunting rifle. While on the way to school she was holding it between her legs pointed Up, & casually cocked the hammer & pulled the trigger. The result was she put a hole through the roof of the Bus. It was un-capped & who knows how long it had been loaded. Our G-Grandfather had died in the late 1890s, Can't say if it was used after that or not.
